In the image farthest to the  left is Blue Bottle’s Kyoto-style coffee maker.  Has anyone tried a cup of  coffee from this $20,000 machine?  What do you think?  If you would like to taste a cup head on down to Mint Plaza in San Francisco and see what you think.  Let us know!

What do these stainless steel coffee beans promise to do?  The creators of “Coffee Joulies” claim that you can drop a couple in your coffee and it will quickly cool your hot cup of coffee to a drinkable temperature.  They work by absorbing the heat of the coffee.  Then when your coffee starts to cool they give up the heat and keep your coffee warm.  Sound amazing?  I’m not sure.  They are reusable and currently cost about $30 for a bag of five if you buy them on the Kickstarter website.

What do you think?

Did you know there are different waves of the coffee movement? Folgers created the first wave of coffee in the early 1900’s. They started this wave by roasting on a large scale. Before Folgers, people roasted and ground their own coffee. Some soldiers in the Civil War even had coffee grinders built into their rifles.

Starbucks started the second wave. This wave was characterized by bringing espresso and stronger dark roasted coffee to people on a large scale.

The third wave is the movement that we are in right now. Of course, it is difficult to define a wave when a culture is in the midst of it. However, I think it is currently being defined as medium to light roasted coffee with an emphasis on brewing techniques. Often the brewing technique pays close attention to brewing temperature and the coffee does not sit on a burner after it is brewed.

I have been making great shots of espresso with my manual La Pavoni these days.  I purchased a new grinder several weeks ago, and the Rocky Rancillio grinder makes all the difference in the world.  It is unbelievable how fine this grinder can pulverize the coffee.

For those of you who don’t know a manual La Pavoni does not have a pump.  The shot of espresso is a result of the heating element warming up the water, and creating pressure in the tank.  Once the machine is up to pressure you insert the portafilter with ground espresso.  Lift up the lever, hold it there for about 10 seconds for preinfusion until a small amount of coffee starts to drip out.  Then you slowly pull the lever down to get a great shot of coffee (this is where the phrase “pulling a shot” originated).  If you have all the right conditions, good coffee, right grind, correct amount of tampering, and nice form on your pull, then you will have a wonderful shot of espresso.  It is truly a thing of beauty.

These days I repair espresso machines, and I specialize in repairing the La Pavoni machine.  They are beautiful works of art.

You can check out my repair website:  www.kanencoffee.com

Can you name this coffee tool?  What is it used for?  Could it have other non-coffee applications?

Post your comments and I will give the answer tomorrow along with the names of those people who got it right. I will also pick a winner for the best non-coffee application. There is a prize too!

Brewing coffee with a vacuum pot is a great way to entertain guests for your after dinner coffee.  However, this is not a good way to brew coffee on a regular basis.  You have to watch it closely and there is a lot of cleanup.

The last couple of days I have been visiting my parents and trying out their new Keurig.  It is truly one of the most convenient ways of making coffee on the market.  Turn on, open, pop in a premade plastic cup full of coffee, hit brew, and your morning cup of coffee is ready to go.  Coffee machines excite me!  I wanted this machine to produce A Good Cup of Joe, or even a descent cup of Joe.  However, I was greatly disappointed with the brown liquid that it made.  It was one step above instant coffee, and at about the same level as Starbucks Via (the packets of finely grounded coffee that you stir into hot water).

Yet, my hopes for this machine had not been completely destroyed.  The machine comes with a micro screen filter that allows you to add your own fresh ground coffee.  I began the laborious process of trying to get my fresh ground coffee into the tiny screen without spilling coffee grounds all over the place.   Then I started to brew and water started shooting out of the sides of the machine.  This is a frequent problem with Keurig machines.  The water is moving too fast, and instead of all of the water going through the filter some of it overflows and pours out the side of the machine.  Creating a balancing act where one tries to catch all of the liquid in their cup.  Once again I was trying to avoid a mess all over the counter.   I was left with a cup of coffee that didn’t taste any better than one I could get out of a $25 drip coffee machine at Target.

Is there a solution out there for the person looking for in-home convenience when making their morning Cup of Joe?  First, I recommend coffee machines with built in grinders.  These machines do not produce the greatest cups of coffee.  However, they add convenience, fresh ground beans, and a descent cup of Joe.  Second, there is the fully automatic espresso maker.  Check out the Equipment Corner for more info.  This is no cheap investment.  However, at the rate of $0.50 a day for a Keurig cup of coffee and the cost of a Keurig machine it wouldn’t take a person long to pay for a low-end fully automatic espresso machine.